KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 6): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has emerged as a substantial shareholder in KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:KIPREIT) for the first time, after acquiring a 6.07% stake in the REIT, comprising 48.51 million units.

This as EPF, via Citigroup Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd, acquired the block of shares on Dec 3 via a private placement deal, the REIT’s filing on Friday showed.

The REIT announced on Dec 2 that its overall placement, totalling 180 million shares, would be priced at 82.5 sen. For reference, KIP REIT's share price closed at 88.5 sen on Tuesday.

Prior to this, KIP REIT’s latest annual report showed that EPF was its 16th largest shareholder as of July 31, 2024, with the provident fund holding 8.15 million units, or a 1.03% stake.

Other unitholders in the REIT include executive director Ong Tzu Chuen, with an indirect stake of 11.38%.

At end-September, its retail segment contributed about 94% to the REIT’s total revenue while occupancy rates of the seven KIPMalls stood at 90.3%.

For the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2024 (1QFY2025), KIP REIT’s net profit fell 3% to RM10 million from RM10.39 million in the previous year, dragged by higher operating expenses, as well as higher manager's management fee and borrowing cost.

For 1QFY2025, KIP REIT’s quarterly revenue grew 19.2% to RM26.7 million from RM22.4 million a year ago, underpinned by higher revenue in its retail segment, specifically contribution from KIPMall Kota Warisan that was acquired in February 2024.

In the latest results filing, the REIT said its outlook for the current financial year remains positive, driven by its disciplined approach to capital management and a "focus on identifying and acquiring accretive assets".

KIP REIT units closed unchanged at 87.5 sen on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM698.8 million. Year-to-date, the stock has risen 8.7%.